Ferrari And Vettel Show Their Mettle In Singapore

SINGAPORE - It was a good race for Sebastien Vettel and Ferrari.  After winning the top grid position, Vettel led the race from pole to podium.  The Mercedes teams were not quite on their optimum pace with some signs of struggle with tires on the multi-corner track that did not benefit from the high-speed silver arrows.  In fact, the ever-reliable Benz of Nico Rosberg wasn’t causing his first DNF of the season.  The day also proved good for Daniel Ricciardo and Red Bull who turned in their finest performance of the season.

Vettel charged from the pole and showed the prowess of the Ferrari as he was 3 seconds ahead of Ricciardo’s Red Bull after the first lap, increasing it to 5.3 sec in the opening laps.  Ricciardo appeared to be gaining on Vettel until contact between Felipe Massa and Nico Hulkenburg brought out the safety car allowing all the leaders to pit for tires and fuel.  Any possible tire advantage that Red Bull had was lost.  Vettel appeared to take the stint after the restart easy, possibly realizing the tire advantage of the Red Bulls.  However, after the safety car again came out due to a spectator on the track, Vettel had a clear 21-lap run to the checkered flag.  Kimi Raikkonen took the final spot on the podium for Ferrari.

After the race, Vettel commented “I think Daniel had a very good race, looking after his tires very well, which made it a bit tactical towards the end with the stints. Second stint I was dictating the pace. Obviously around here it's not so easy to overtake, so I was using that. And from then, at some point, chipping away, trying to control the gap. Fortunately that worked. It's obviously a great day; we had a really great weekend, thanks to the team.”

The race results have moved Vettel within 51 points of Lewis Hamilton and 7 points off number 2, Nico Rosberg. "If we have more weekends like this, then yes," said 28-year-old German Vettel when asked if Ferrari can take the fight to Mercedes in the remaining six races. "All we have to do is look after ourselves, maximum attack and then what they do is not in our hands. “We have a small chance, maybe we can make the impossible possible, and we will definitely go for it."

In other F1 news, it is rumored that Jensen Button will announce his retirement at the next race in Suzuka.  After 16 years, a F1 Championship, 15 race wins and 50 podium finishes, Button will reportedly drive in the World Endurance Championship and host the revamped Top Gear.

Oh Captain My Captain...

SONOMA, CALIFORNIA – The season did not end that well for The Captain.  Roger Penske was close to making history Sunday hoping to be the first team owner to win the NASCAR Daytona 500, the Indianapolis 500 and the IndyCar championship.  With his three IndyCar drivers all eligible for the Championship, including Montoya with a 77 point lead, it seemed to be a sure-thing.  But in racing, as in football, “it ain’t over ‘til it’s over.”

Mr. Penske had a bit of simple advice to Juan Pablo, “One thing I’ve said to Juan – he’s run a great season, he’s been tough and he’s been competitive and he needs to bring the same playbook here on Sunday.”  Unfortunately, Montoya was not able to heed the advice and ended up colliding with teammate Will Power on a restart on lap 39 sending both into the garage.  After Montoya took on a new front wing assembly the Montoya and Power dropped  to 23^rd and 22^nd.

Scott Dixon running in ninth place at the time of the incident saw the opportunity afforded by the Penske mishap, turned on the juice and took the lead on lap 51, in the 85-lap race.  Dixon came into the weekend mourning  the loss of his dear friend Justin Wilson, but focused.  “This is what we came here for this weekend,” Dixon said. “It was a long shot but we knew we had shot at it. All of us this week raced with heavy hearts. Justin Wilson and everyone in his family are in our thoughts. He is such a great guy and that made it hard this week.”

What did Montoya have to say?  “We had a good car. We had a good start and, you know, we did everything we needed to do at the beginning,” he said. “Will overshot and I was fighting with Newgarden, we shot the corner, we got inside and Will cut across and I was there, and we touched and that was it. We came from behind and did our best, just wasn't enough. It's tough there, tires are going off, and it's one of those days. As I told you, it could happen, and it happened. It sucks, but when you make double points the last race in a road course and you change the tire and you do everything you did for this weekend and you put so many variables, it doesn't even matter what you do all year.”

Penske lamented “These guys were racing. It was an accident. It looked like Juan wanted to get inside and Will didn’t see him. At the end of the day it’s over and we move on. We had a great season.”  At least that was what he said publicly…

More Craziness At The Glen

WATKINS GLEN, NY -   The craziness continues to Watkins Glen.   Kevin Harvick, leading the last lap of the race, runs out of gas two turns from victory allowing pole-sitter Joey Logano his first career road-course win.  The road race turned into another fuel mileage competition as the field ran the final 30 laps under the green-flag.  "I'm still just trying to catch my breath," Logano said after climbing from his No. 22 Team Penske Ford. "I was really excited after that one. I was running down Harvick there for a little bit, and once I got close to him, he started to pick up his pace a little bit, which was good, because I needed him to run out of gas.”  What made the win even more impressive was Logano fighting back after a pit-lane violation required a mandatory stop-and-go penalty.

Kyle Busch ran a conservative race, yet managed to come in second, just seconds ahead of a coasting Kevin Harvick.  To qualify for The Chase, Busch has simply to finish the final 4 races of the regular season, so he does not need to unnecessary risks at this time.  "I think that was some of (crew chief) Adam (Stevens’) worry, too," said Busch "We couldn't afford running out of gas like we did last week and taking home an even worse finish this week, because of how many cars finish on the lead 

lap typically at a road course.”

Tony Stewart had a poor week at the Glen.  Two days before the race, the family of Kevin Ward Jr. filed a wrongful death suit against Stewart for the tragic Sprint Car accident that killed Ward.  Stewart looked very good in qualifying as he clinched the third starting position, and was running top ten for much of the race’s first half.  On lap 50, any glimmer of hope was dashed as a suspension failure ended his weekend, leaving him dead last.

In a bit of sad news, Buddy Baker, one of the legends of NASCAR, passed away Monday from lung cancer.  In a 35 year career, Buddy won 19 races out of 699 starts with 38 poles and 202 top-five finishes.  Buddy was the first driver to exceed 200 mph during a test session at the Talladega super-speedway.  Buddy raced for Petty Enterprises in 1971 and 1972.  The King, Richard Petty issued the following statement. "Buddy was always wide open and that's the way he raced and lived his life. He was always full of energy. He was a person you wanted to be around because he always made you feel better. He raced with us, shared his stories with us and became our friend. Buddy loved the sport and he made a lasting impression on the sport on the track, in the television booth and on the radio. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Baker family at this time." RIP

At The Tricky Triangle Crazy Is Crazy Does

POCONO, PENNSYLVANIA – Crazy is as crazy does.  The Pocono 400 sure saw some strange happenings this past Sunday.  With seven caution periods in the first half of the race, it appeared that it was to be a long grueling race, but then the next 80 laps only had one caution.  When you add the fuel management to the mix the top three cars – Logano, Busch and Truex – all ran out of gas. 

 In a race like this, staying power is what is needed, and Matt Kenseth seemed to have the biggest on Sunday; as was evident when he passed sputtering race leader Kyle Busch on the final lap to clinch his first win at the “Tricky Triangle.”  “I never thought I would ever win at Pocono,” exclaimed Matt Kenseth, “ and I never ever thought I would win a fuel mileage race. We did both today.”

After a 4-race winning streak, Joe Gibbs driver Kyle Busch led the race for 19 laps, including the final lap when he ran out of gas.  When Kyle was asked about the poor turn of events, he said “Man that is a bummer…We went for broke today and came up a little bit short.”  It turned out that when NASCAR allowed the race to go 63 laps without a caution period, a few of the cars did not have enough fuel to make it.

It is odd though that Kenseth and Keselowski made their final fuel stop at the same time as Busch, Logano and Truex, yet the latter three ran out of gas.  It appears that engine efficiency, driving style, and whether or not the fuel man was able to completely top off the tank played an important role.  But I’m sure that Mr. Gibbs was happy that Kenseth was the beneficiary of the battle.

Kyle Busch only has 5 races to clinch a spot in The Chase.  He is currently 13 points out of 30^th place.  Kyle’s work is cut out for him.

Bold Bandy Boss at Burley with Ballinjack

BURLEY, IDAHO – Congratulations to Tom Bandy and the Ballinjack crew crew for winning the Idaho Regatta Burley Cup in the APBA Comp Jet class sweeping all four heats of the race.  The 19’ Liberty owned by Jack McClure and powered by a DNE Motorsports big block Chevy also shattered the course record by 107.8%.  As you can see from the videos of the first heat, the Ballinjack is in a league of her own pulling away from the competition at the start and dominating all the way around the course.  

Jack and Tom got together about 10 years ago and started playing around with ski boats and later drag boats.  Built in 1976, Jack raced the Liberty in the late-70s and early 80s with some success. 

After some prodding, Tom convinced Jack to resurrect the Liberty from mothballs and compete again.  The duo engaged Dave Ebbert of DNE Motorsports to put together a competitive big block for the boat. 

DNE has been dominating the drag boat and drag car circuits for several years now, and built this 1000 bhp package with a 4” forged crank, Carrillo rods, as well as Edelbrock EFI and intake.  Class rules do not allow for sheet metal intakes or aluminum blocks and require common port heads, making the job a bit more difficult than usual.  Also, the special requirements put on the engine when running a jet propulsion unit had to be dialed in by Dave and team.  Jack at Burns Stainless consulted with the team closely in developing a proper header system for the package.

In addition to the Burley Cup, the Ballinjack also ran in the infamous Kilo race open to any boat that had a podium finish in a sanctioned event.  The competition is to clock the fastest flying kilometer and flying quarter mile speed.  Again, the Ballinjack set the bar at a new level shattering the world record of 96 mph with a blistering 108 mph run.  The flying Kilo record is now a staggering 113 mph.

Porsche 1-2 at 24 Heures du Mans!!

LE MANS, FRANCE – It was a special day for Porsche as they claimed a 1-2 finish at the 83^rd 24 Heures du Mans.  The past 5 years have been tough to all but Audi who have unmercifully dominated the grueling overnight battle.  The R18 e-tron LMP1 racers this year were no match for the Porsche 919, both in speed and durability.  After 395 laps, the No. 19 Porsche 919 of Hulkenburg/Tandy/Bamber was at the finish line first giving Porsche its first victory since 1998, with two rookie drivers no less! Ok, rookie may not be totally adequate as Hulkenburg is a current Formula One driver. 

After 9 hours, the Porsche had a firm grip on the number one position, but they knew it was still a long way to the finish.  Following veteran Tandy’s overnight turn behind the wheel, the gap was considerable over the No 7 and No 9 Audis.  The race was particularly competitive with the Audis and Porsches running in “qualifying trim” for much of the race.  "Our goal was to have one car on the podium, but a 1-2 victory is amazing. I am very proud of what we achieved. We had a flawless race with a great pace and we didn't make any mistake. The last lap was a bit weird because it was drizzling and people got nervous in the garage. After the finish line, it is amazing to see thousands and thousands of people cheering up. I am very happy that we've done it."

The 17 Porsche 919 of Bernhard/Hartley/Webber finished one lap down, though it was the fastest car on the track in the early hours of the race.  A stop and go penalty dropped them to fourth.  The third Porsche 919 could only manage a 9^th place finish and were struggling with braking stability early in the race.  Timo Bernhard quipped " A victory would have been a dream, but now it’s a double victory, so it’s very special for the whole team.”

The Le Mans race also saw a Corvette Racing GTE-Pro victory for Corvette Racing as Gavin/Milner/Taylor piloted their C7.R to the teams first Le Mans victory since 2011.  The No. 51 AP Corse Ferrari 458 Italia gave the Corvette a run for the money until a gearbox issue sent the Ferrari to the garage. "It’s almost a fairy tale story” commented Olivier Gavin, “the way it turned out. We started the week with the No. 63 having its issues and not being able to start the race. The way the team came together and led us into the race and enabled us to have this fantastic result today is amazing.”

Monaco and Belle Isle

It was a disappointing day for Lewis Hamilton at Monaco.  After claiming the pole for the first time at the fabled track in Monte Carlo, Hamilton had his “usual” lead, an amazing 15 seconds over teammate Rosberg.  However, on lap 64, the safety car was called out following Max Verstappen’s contact with Romain Grosjean while trying to overtake the Lotus, and spinning out of control.  Following the accident, Hamilton’s pit crew made a crucial mistake and called him into the pits.  Nico and Sebastian Vettel stayed out dropping Hamilton to third place.  He despondent brit commented "I can't really express the way I feel at the moment, so I won't even attempt to".  "I thought Nico had pitted, so I thought the guys behind were pitting. I came in with full confidence that the others had done the same."

Understanding that this race was essentially given to him, this is Rosberg’s third straight victory at Monaco and his second this season. "I know that I got lucky today, so I'll just enjoy the moment now," the German said. "But I need to work hard because Lewis was a bit stronger today."

The youthful 17 year old Max Verstappen qualified an impressive 10^th in the race, but has met with criticism from his fellow drivers following his bonehead passing move in the race.  Felipe Massa, whose race was snatched away by first lap contact with Hulkenberg, commented on Verstappen’s experience, “It shows that maybe experience counts in F1, and I think to teach this type of accident they need to control better, because it was very dangerous so it was lucky that he was not hurt because he could have been very hurt with what happened. To be honest, he was not in the position to overtake, he was not even near to go inside, he was behind, so to be honest, it was too much what happened.”

Following a crazy 30 days in May at Indy, the IndyCar series traveled to the Belle Isle track in Detroit for a two race series.  The first race, scheduled for two hours, was cut 30-minutes short by rain.  The Andretti Motorsport team gambled on the weather by keeping their two drivers, Marco Andretti and Munoz out on dry tires longer before the threat of rain.  The gamble payed off, and the 23-year-old Carlos Munoz had a substantial lead when the caution came out with Marco in second position.  This was the Columbian driver’s first IndyCar win.

On Sunday, race two at Belle Isle was won by Sebastien Bourdais who led the final 18 laps of the race.  The cold, rainy weather made it difficult for the drivers and fans, but the race went on.  There were several top-contenders that crashed out including Scott Dixon who was booted out by teammate Charlie Kimball.  Will Power also wrecked on lap 65 making contact with teammate Helio Castroneves.  The latter accident brought out the red flag to clear debris from the track, leaving a short 3 minute and 24 second session to the finish.  Bourdais won the drag race to turn one on the restart and the victory.  “It’s a heck of a feeling after we couldn’t get it more wrong yesterday,” Bourdais said. “We did everything wrong yesterday and everything right today.”  The benefits of a double-header.

In other IndyCar news, closure panels on the rear wheel guards have been mandated for the final three superspeedway races.  The requirements for the panels came after three cars went airborne during the Indianapolis 500 practice sessions.  The panels are designed to block airflow through the rear wheel guards minimizing lift.  Pretty soon these cars will have full bodywork and we may see the end of open wheel racing at this level.  Who would have thought.